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katialena's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder, Infidelity, Vomit, Medical content, and Sexual harassment
lchambers394's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It was a personal and hopeful read, and I enjoyed it.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, and Alcohol
nafisa_tabassum's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is an intensely relatable book and made me cry. Cath is not like me at all, but she goes through coming-of-age stages that are timeless. The way her family is written is especially heartbreaking - there comes a stage in life where familiar relationships change and Cath portrays how hard it can be to adjust to that. Her relationship with her father is loving, but painful in a way that personally related to me and opened up old wounds.
The romance is a distracting and delightful highlight. The main guy is golden retriever, and I have never been able to resist fictional golden retriever men.
Lastly, Cat grows with her love for media and being a true geek - by her own definition, someone who would choose fiction and fantasy over reality any day - and doesn't force her or Wren to grow out of it. Instead, their loved ones participate in their interests. The novel takes fanfic as seriously as it should be, and shows the genuine art, love and dedication that goes into it. It understands girl geeks, which was refreshing.
I think this is my favourite Rowell book. I'll come back to it.
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Forced institutionalization
chaos_and_chapters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts
aholguin98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Spoilers from here on out! You have been warned!
<Spoiler>What I liked:
Cath was such a relatable character to me. I have anxiety and ADHD and can relate to her need to take care of her family and a fear of interacting with others. I love her internal monologue throughout the book and I loved to see her growth as a character throughout the book. She started out as highly introverted and recluse, then evolved into a writer knowing her direction in her new adult life.
Reagan: So funny and at times passive aggressive. She's firey and I love it. I like how she influences Cath to go out into the world and grow a sense of confidence.
Wren: At first she was somewhat annoying and a hot mess but she had her own character development and we got to see by reading between the lines why she partied and drank. We saw from an outside perspective Wren's struggles with alcohol addiction and unsuccessful relationships. I had many friends like Wren in college. I'm glad that Wren was able to see the light in her addiction and not continue down her unhealthy dangerous path. I'm glad that she was able to find happiness in her darkness. I'm glad that she was able to speak to her fun-time-only Mom and be okay with that. I definitely would have taken Cath's path and not speak to her if it were me.
Levi: A chivalrous sweetheart. From him came a healthy relationship with Cath and I love to see that in a YA novel. He doesn't push her into things she's not comfortable with. He bonds with her in his own way by having her read to him. That was so cute. I love that there was some representation for people who have trouble reading and prefer audiobooks or audio in general. I have trouble reading physical or ebooks due to my ADHD and I love that they were able to bond over reading and be okay with their differences. I really liked how their relationship was portrayed. Simple acts were very intimate without being graphic. She walked the line of YA romance well.
Fanfiction representation in a published book: I love that this book made it possible for people to find out about fanfiction and to encourage others to write fanfiction. When I first attempted this book in 2015, I was drawn to it by this premise alone.
What I disliked:
A lot of my dislikes came at the end of the book. (Possibly an unpopular opinion) I wish Cath took the deal with Nick to get their joint story published. It would have been nice to be seen for the hard work she put into it. I guess it worked out for Cath in the end but, I feel it would have been nice. I get why it was written the way it was. Nick pretty much betrayed Cath and this was a Karmic moment for him.
Towards the end of the book when Cath and Levi's physical relationship started to heat up I didn't really feel much chemistry. The descriptions and physicality of movements were unclear to read. I'm not saying I wanted more spicy scenes, I know this is a YA novel but there was less emotion from Cath. It was like the internal monologue of a Vulcan with anxiety.<spoiler/>
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual harassment
brontesauruses's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Abandonment
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
perth_is's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Violence, Vomit, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Sexual content
elliereadsthings's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
OH! And don’t get me started on Cath… Wren…
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Incest, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, and Abandonment
peachg3m's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Abandonment
Minor: Forced institutionalization
literarypenguin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The writing was good and I enjoyed that at the end of every chapter was a piece of fanfiction written by Cath and sometimes her sister Wren or an excerpt of the Simon Snow books. It showed an appreciation of fandom and how it tied into the main story. The pace was pretty easy to follow except the beginning was a bit slow at first but then it picked up its pace the more you got into the book. The ending was something out of nightmares, I hated how it left off on a cliffhanger not really resolving much of what happened and leaving it in the air. What hurts the worst is that it may never be resolved as the book was written as a standalone. Despite all this, the writing was fine and enjoyable for the most part.
Fangirl focuses on Cather Avery and her navigating her first year of college and all the trials and tribulations that come with it. It follows her trying to tackle all her new classes, having a roommate that isn’t her twin sister for the first time, and even having her first real romantic relationship. The story is the most relatable story I have read, It talks about the stresses of college so accurately and how it can be a lot for people to handle. One of the central conflicts Cath faces is her writing assignment and keeping her scholarship for her Fiction Writing class. She has to learn how to balance her writing of works that she loves like her fanfiction and writing projects for her class allowing her to explore new worlds and create her own. The only thing I wish the plot did more was to focus on Cath becoming a better writer and improve her writing overall. I could have done without as much fanfiction and more about Cath and her journey in the world of being a writer.
Cather was the most relatable character in fiction I have ever read about! Cath views the world differently than most people do and like myself doesn’t like change and would rather isolate myself in my room rather than do too many social situations. It was nice to see her evolve and be more accepting of change and be a bit more social. Wren was the polar opposite of her twin sister, she was more sociable and impulsive than her. She was also more of a flirt than her. She loves Cath deeply though and their bond is truly an inseparable one. Levi. I love Levi! He is such a gentleman and such a big sweetheart! I loved how Cath and his relationship started with her reading him her fanfiction and then graduated to something deeper and more romantic. He was also really supportive of Cath and her writing which was so sweet! I really liked their father Arthur too! He was a good parent despite his mental shortcomings. Reagan was a really good friend and eventually became a close friend to Cath over the story. I loved her brutal honesty and her sense of humor!
This book mainly takes place at Cath and Wren’s college in Lincoln, Nebraska. I don’t know too much about Nebraska personally but I enjoyed the author putting an emphasis on the farming communities in the area and how the colleges offer education on farming and agriculture. I think that is so interesting and really shows the importance of that industry in the state. I like that not all of Nebraska was shown as farming either and how the state had cities as well.
One of the themes that this book explores is anxiety and mental illness in general. It depicts Cath suffering from a sort of social anxiety disorder and their father suffering from mental illness as well. It also depicts children being raised by a single parent and the abandonment of a parent. How Cath and Wren both deal with their father’s mental illness and their estrangement from their mother for decades. I think the author handles these themes very well for the time that this book was published and it handled it with care. I love that Rainbow Rowell wrote a book featuring these themes and brought them all in a positive light!
In conclusion, I really enjoyed Fangirl and I think if you are a fan of fanfiction then you will feel a connection with this story. If you are a person that enjoys a sweet and wholesome romance about two unlikely people being drawn to one another then you will like this romance! I think this was a lovely book that will stick with me!
Graphic: Alcoholism, Mental illness, and Abandonment
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Alcohol